KENYA: The Keekorok Lodge Oasis

Within the vast grasslands of the Maasai Mara lies the picturesque Keekorok Lodge, an oasis for travelers of every kind. Here, we enjoyed a lovely walk around the gardens on our last morning in the Mara. The ornamental flowering shrubs and thorny acacias attracted many winged visitors to delight us.

There was no shortage of sunbirds busily foraging amongst the acacias, including Scarlet-chested, Variable, Collared, a surprise Golden-winged, and numerous Marico Sunbirds (above) who are busy chasing the others away from their favorite nectar source.

A sweep of the manicured lawns reveals several of Africa’s 30-plus stunning, iridescent Starling species: Hildebrandt’s (above), the similar looking Superb, Greater Blue-eared, and the relatively plainer long-tailed Rueppell’s Starling. All are vocal though the rich song of the Hildebrandt’s draws the most attention.

Several African Hoopoes walk about the grounds until they find a patch of soft sandy soil in which to probe their long, thin, curved bills, looking for invertebrates. Gaudy-colored Purple Grenadiers (above) drop to the ground from nearby shrubbery in search of small seeds, while a Swahali Sparrow or two appear to have already found a good food patch. In larger numbers, the confiding small Grey-headed Social Weavers prefer the short cropped lawn grass where they are joined by a Speckled-fronted Weaver. Little Bee-eaters perched low to the ground, making frequent short forays to catch insects. Other avian beauties included Yellow Bishop, African Grey Flycatcher, African Paradise Flycatcher, White-bellied Canary, Eastern Black-headed Oriole, Tawny-flanked Prinia, and Meyer’s Parrot.

Overhead, a Woolly-necked Stork slowly glided its way towards the nearby hippo pool, where the only other waterbird in residence was a Water Thick-knee.

A small group of five Banded Mongoose (above) caught our attention on the garden edges. Foraging through the grounds in search of anything small that would be a meal, one paused to urinate. The others immediately piled over each other to use that single spot latrine, which indicates territory marking.